Whether you’re a new business looking to build your client list and your influence or you’re an existing business wanting to expand your horizons and grow your brand, here are the top 25 dos and don’ts you will want to follow while paving your way to success on LinkedIn.
Since its launch in 2003, LinkedIn has made waves for the business world in its mission to “connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” Whether you’re a new business looking to build your client list and your rapport or you’re an existing business wanting to expand your horizons, there are some dos and don’ts you will want to follow while paving your way to success in the world of LinkedIn.
With seven hundred and fifty-six million professionals on LinkedIn, we need to take a serious look at how we interact with other like-minded professionals. It is essential to take special care in presenting yourself and your brand to the business world, especially knowing that any move we make in our technological world can forever impact. If you don’t give yourself in a way that makes your client feel 100% confident that you will take care of them and their brand, you are not only likely to damage your credibility, but you could also be removed from LinkedIn altogether.
It’s no secret that technology and social media follow us in every direction that we go. From following the latest trends on Tik Tok to posting about the happenings of our everyday life on Instagram and Facebook, social media is here to stay. Still, we don’t always share our proudest moments with the world on social media. Our family and friends can often get a good laugh out of these moments, but sharing these in a business setting does not boast a sense of confidence with your prospective new clients and connection requests. You need to separate your interactions within your social media accounts from your interactions within your business profiles to avoid irreversible damage. Listed below are 25 ways to keep your LinkedIn profile successful.
1. Welcome your new connections.
Think about if you were gathering for a new place and the business owner never bothered to greet you and introduce themselves. I am almost positive that you would not want to return. Similarly, treat your LinkedIn profile. You want your new connections to feel welcomed. Keep your welcome messages short, but make sure that it is inviting and relevant to your brand and inquiry.
2. Respond to all inquiries in a timely manner.
Prompt responses keep the engagement going. Give yourself a realistic timeframe, but don’t make it longer than 48 hours. Your prospective clients are also your competitor’s prospective clients. Start your interaction off on a good note with timeliness.
3. Be personable, but stay professional.
When you are responding to a connection, you want the conversation to flow freely in a way that presents your business as organized, thorough, and valuable. This isn’t a conversation with your drinking buddy from college. This is a business prospect. If you wouldn’t say it during a job interview, then don’t say it on LinkedIn.
4. Personalize your messages.
Don’t simply copy and paste the same messages to every new connection. Do a quick search into the latest contact and personalize your messages to their needs and their brand. This will let the other party know that you care and have a genuine interest in what they need and/or represent.
5. Choose a professional headshot that exudes confidence, professionalism and represents your brand.
Remember, this isn’t tender or Facebook. Every time a potential new client clicks on your LinkedIn profile, you are interviewing for a job. Your profile picture is likely going to be the first thing that draws their attention. You have mere seconds to make a positive first impression.
6. The name field needs to strictly stay as your name.
Adding anything else outside of your name in the name field is against LinkedIn’s Terms of Service. Breaking these terms will get your account restricted.
7. Look at your competitors.
Grab out a notebook, look at your competitors and take notes. How do your competitors stand out? What do you think they do well? What could they improve upon? What do you bring to the table that makes you unique compared to your competitors? Use these notes to help build your profile without bashing your competitors.
8. Stay active.
You wouldn’t leave your business or your place of work high and dry for weeks, so don’t leave your LinkedIn profile unopened for weeks. You don’t want to miss potential connection opportunities.
9. Share valuable and reliable information.
Keep your name at the forefront of your branding sector by regularly sharing helpful content and knowledge related to your area of expertise.
10. Create a schedule.
At least once a month, set a designated time aside to work on and update your profile. This is a perfect time to share new content with your connections.
11. Appeal to all styles of communication.
When you are creating your new content for your LinkedIn profile, post in various mediums such as videos, blogs, or articles. Every person is different in their ways of communicating. Some people prefer to learn through videos, while others are perfectly content in reading through an article. If you are reposting an article or a video that you read or watched, be sure to read/listen to it in its entirety so that there are no negative surprises at the end, and always credit your source. Videos that are 2-3 minutes long retain attention the best.
12. Help to make your connections go full circle.
Share other brands and business professionals that you have found to be beneficial with different connections. In doing so, you’re nurturing your relationships, which in turn will make your business mature.
13. Hook your audience with your headline and about me section.
When you are looking to purchase a new book, the front cover and the title will be the first thing to draw your attention (aka your profile picture). Then, you will go straight to the back cover write-up to see if the storyline is intriguing. Your headline and about me section should intrigue your audiences so that they want to learn more.
14. Be concise.
Don’t add a bunch of fillers to fill in the blanks and meet a word count. Use brief, appealing language while optimizing the allotted 1300 characters.
15. List strong endorsements and references in your profile.
With technology at the tips of our fingerprints in everything that we do, we have access to an infinite number of resources and reviews. Before we make large purchases or significant decisions, most of us research the reviews of the product or company first. Think of your endorsements and references on your LinkedIn profile as your reviews. By listing your strongest references, you show potential clients that others have trusted in you and that they can too. You are bridging yourself towards a successful track record.
16. Show pride and authenticity in your brand.
By showing your pride in your brand, your connections and potential clients can appreciate your passion. We tend to be drawn to those that are undeniably passionate. Be authentic in your interactions and summary so that those viewing you are instantly drawn in.
17. Don’t be afraid to divulge your expertise.
Highlight your accomplishments and what you are most proud of in your business endeavor. This enhances your credibility and can make you stand out from your competitors. Do you participate in volunteer opportunities? Are you continuing your education? What projects are you working on that are related to your brand? All of these things are prospective topics that can uncover your expertise.
18. Like your headshot, your cover image needs to stand out.
Your cover image should be striking and contribute to your brand. For example, be intentional with the colors that you’re using. Different colors portray different meanings and emotions, so decide what vibe you are going for. Depending on the vibe you are aiming for, you can add personal images, eye-catching abstract images, an inspiring quote, branding photos, or a subtle call to action.
19. Target your ideal audience.
The way you present a motivational speech to a group of high schoolers will be vastly different from how you deliver a speech to a group of executives. Customize your interactions and your profiles accordingly.
20. Know keywords related to your expertise.
By knowing keywords, you give yourself an upper hand in the search bar.
21. Pay attention to your comments and shares.
This gives you a good insight into what people resonate most with to continue to personalize client’s experiences as well as your LinkedIn content.
22. Utilize LinkedIn’s many features.
LinkedIn didn’t become the number one business networking site by being obsolete. They are continuously adding new features and evolving their platform to stay on top.
23. Take a skill assessment specific to your knowledge.
Although this is not a requirement, it can boost your profile up to 30% once you pass.
24. Proofread and then proofread again.
LinkedIn is a networking platform for professionals. Don’t turn potential clients away with silly grammar mistakes. You want to convey your brand competently and accurately.
25. Enjoy yourself!
You don’t want to manage your LinkedIn profile to be a chore. Enjoy the experience of building your brand and be proud of your hard work.
LinkedIn is not your ordinary social platform. It is the business office of the social media world. Stay professional, attentive, distinctive, authentic, and punctual, and you will be on the fast track to achieving your dreams.
Linkability provides consulting, services, and products that help individuals and organizations, with big goals, develop powerful networks, and position themselves as the leader of their respective niche on LinkedIn and beyond!